Second Chance To Make It Right
by ChaosIdeals
Summary: They won, but Naruto lost too much after the war. She researched and experimented till finally she made a seal. A seal that will allow her to change the past, to make things right. femNaru, pairings undecided
1. Prologue

"Normal Speech"  
"_Thoughts or_ _Jutsu_"  
"**Demon Speaking"**  
"**_Demo__n Thought"_**

_Listening to: Act The Part - Cherri Bomb_

* * *

Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto let out an exhausted sigh and threw her long golden hair over her shoulder. After two years of studying and experimenting she'd finally finished. She looked over the large seal in front of her with the aura of someone who had performed the act often, searching for any possible mistake. One tiny irregularity would put everything she had worked for down the drain. Finding nothing, she grinned. She had been inspired to come up with this seal a few years ago from an offhand comment by Kurama during one of her depressed days. He had remarked to her that if she wished to have everyone back, why not simply go back and change it? And so, she decided that she would.

She ran through the list of people she had lost since she began her Shinobi career. Haku, Zabuza, Hokage-jiji, Asuma-sensei, Ero-sennin. Once the Fourth Shinobi War began, she lost so many more. Friends from other villages, gained through the alliance. She only had a few left now. She didn't live within the remains of Konoha; most of the remaining shinobi wondered or lived in small settlements around the nations. People visited her every now and again, hell she even saw Sasuke every now and again. He was a wanderer now, he had no vengeance to be gained and he had long since gotten over his 'kill Naruto' and 'destroy Konoha things. He had been showing up more and more often lately, curious as to what had been keeping her busy. She wouldn't tell him, she didn't think any of them could handle it if they got their hopes up only to be crushed should she fail. No, it was much better for her to keep it quiet.

She stood up and grabbed the scroll with her message written on it. Should she succeed or fail, it would tell them what she did, why and how they would be able to tell if she was successful. Mainly, her house would still be standing. Leaving it inside a sealed box, she walked over to the edge of the seal. She breathed to calm herself, and then stepped into the centre.

"Been fun hasn't it fur ball?" she asked. She heard a chuckle rumble from inside the seal.

"**Indeed it has kit, although I hope that this will not be the last time we talk**"

"Same here Kurama"

"**Good luck kit**"

She began flipping through hand seals and focusing her chakra.

"_Fuuinjutsu: Jikan no chi o ikenie ni sasageru_"

The seal lit up, and Naruto could feel the drain on her chakra.

"**It's working kit! Keep going!"**

The world around her began to flicker and whirl around her. She felt nauseous and her head hurt, but then, as if a switch was flicked, all the whirling and pulling was gone, and she was falling.

* * *

She landed in a rough crouch, her training that had been ingrained into her since childhood winning over her urge to faint. She stood up for a moment, noting the familiar area in front of her before falling flat onto her face, the smell that only came from the vast Konoha forests filling her nose. She heard a shout from somewhere in front of her.

"Kakashi-sensei! Someone just fell out of nowhere!" before feeling the light pressure of someone kneeling gently beside her. She felt hands on her, turning her over. She heard sharp intakes of breath.

"Kakashi-sensei, she... She looks just like me!"

"Quiet Naruto, we need to take her to the hospital. We can check if she's a threat there."

Naruto was lifted up by strong arms, and felt the motions of being moved at high speed. She feel unconscious before she could make anything else out.

* * *

Done and done! Phew, I'm on a long weekend, plus a few days off coming up, so I may just be able to write a few more chapters in the upcoming weeks.

In case you couldn't tell by my lovely prologue, this is a femNaru time travel fic, with no pairings decided as of yet.  
I want to see if anyone is interested before going too far into this fic, especially as updates will most likely be very sporadic until I get a proper break, which won't be for another few weeks soooo…

I have a few tentative plans for this, but pairings are undecided, so I'm open for suggestions. Since Naruto has come back, she has changed the time line already, thus splitting into a new time stream (I'm using an argument I got from a fic called 'The Golden Ages', look it up it's a really good fic) thus the two Naruto's. I'll probably start calling the older one Naru or something.

Anyway, reviews are always welcome! They give me inspiration to write. They guilt me into updating too

-_Chaos_

_Listening to: Let It Die - Three Days Grace_

P.S. My Japanese is practically non-existent, so it's pretty much all off Google translate, so that's why it sucks.

_**Translation:  
**_**Jikan no chi o ikenie ni sasageru: **Blood sacrifice of time


	2. Chapter 1

_Listening to: World So Cold – Three Days Grace_

**Second Chance To Make Things Right **(damn I need a shorter title)  
Chapter 1

* * *

Hatake Kakashi stood next to the Sandaime Hokage with his arms crossed, staring at the girl in the hospital bed in front of him. Her golden hair was tied into a loose ponytail by the staff, and she wore a pale green hospital gown. Her chakra exhaustion had kept her out for the past two days. Two days of questions, speculations and tests that answered few questions, making more.

By appearance, she looked like an older version of his own blonde, knuckle-headed student. She also happened to look extremely similar to his sensei, her father. Her whisker marks were a bit more faded, she was definitely more of a woman that her younger self, and she appeared to of had a growth spurt at some point, leaving her as tall for a woman.

"How old do we think she is?" he asked that old man next to him

"Around nineteen, we think" the Sandaime said "No signs of external injury, all tests came back positive and clean"

Kakashi steadied himself "And her identity?"

The Sandaime sighed, looking much older "A perfect match to Naru-chan."

The pair looked at the older version of the loud girl they both knew, wondering what on earth she was doing here. "Any evidence as to how she even got here?"

Kakashi looked to his superior "Nothing in the area she appeared in, so I think it may have been a seal or jutsu. The Kyuubi has been silent too, with no youkai leaking out at all." He turned back to the sleeping girl "They've been asking about her too, even Sasuke." There was no need to say who 'they' were.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his chin "Don't tell them anything for now, though they're bound to find out eventually. I'm guessing they already have suspicions?"

Kakashi hummed in agreement. Naruto was practically following him home, badgering him about the girl who appeared out of nowhere that could be her older sister. He pulled out his favourite book from his pouch and turned to walk down the corridor "Excuse me Sandaime-sama; I have a team training to attend to."

Despite the situation, the Sandaime smiled slightly "And when were you meant to be meeting them Kakashi?"

"About three hours ago"

* * *

Naru twitched slightly before opening her eyes. The white walls blinded her, but she would recognise these walls anywhere, hospital walls. Well, that meant she wasn't dead at least. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and took a glance out the open window, almost gasping in shock. As it was, her eyes widened dramatically anyway. In front of her eyes, was Konohagakure no Sato from her childhood, before the Suna-Oto invasion, before Peins' attack, and before it had finally been completely destroyed during the Fourth shinobi war. Her eyes flickered to the Hokage monument, which showed her four heads staring down at the village. The Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime-jiji and her father. She could have sighed in relief, had a quiet cough to her left not interrupted her.

Whipping around in an instant, she nearly gasped once more. Standing in front of her, dressed in his Hokage robs looking just as she remembered him, was the Sandaime. It took all of her will power to not attack him with a hug and cry her eyes out.

"Sandaime-jiji?" she asked softly. The old man nodded his head, and she fought off the urge she sob. It had worked; her damn seal had actually worked.

"Am I to assume that you are a version of Naru-chan from the future?" he asked. She nodded her head quickly, eager to talk to the man she considered a grandfather.

"Yes jiji, it's me"

The old man sighed "You had better tell me what happened, and you reasons for being here."

As she began talking, everything just spilled out. From the chuunin exams, to the invasion and his death, to finding Tsunade and Sasuke's defection. All about her training with Ero-sennin and the Akatsuki. Everything spilled out of her in a mass tidal wave of words and emotions. By the time she told him of the end of the fourth shinobi war, and the price paid, he had his chin resting in his hands, his eyes closed, looking thoughtful. She took a deep breath and described her research into the seal, and how she had eventually come here.

"I just want to help jiji. It took too much, destroyed too much. I couldn't bear it anymore. With this, I can help, I can make things better. I know I won't be able to save everyone, life doesn't work like that, but if even just a few more people survive it jiji, it'd be worth it."

The Sandaime looked up at the girl in front of him. Her deep blue eyes glowed fiercely with emotions, and her words were strong. He felt pride such pride, that his little Naru-chan had grown into such a strong woman, even with all the hardship she had been though. He stood up.

"Alright Naru-chan, I believe you" her eyes lit up and she jumped up to hug him around his middle

"Jiji!" she exclaimed, a few tears escaping. He chuckled and patted her on the back. "We'll need a cover story of course, a kunoichi returning from a long term S-classed mission perhaps?"

The blonde girl stood up and nodded "I'll go by Kazama Natsumi I think"

The Sandaime nodded "Certainly Naru-chan. I will have to tell a select group of people who you are though, you are aware right?"

She nodded "I was going to tell them anyway. Make sure that Ero-sennin, Kakashi sensei and my younger self know"

Chuckling at the name of his student, the Sandaime nodded. "I will call for a meeting this afternoon."

Naru straightened once more "Excellent jiji. Now, I haven't had any Ichiraku Ramen for several years, please excuse me."

With that, Naru took off down the corridor, her hospital gown flying behind her.

"Naru-chan! You're not wearing any clothes under there!"

* * *

**What is this? A second chapter in a single day? Le gasp!**

**Yeah, yeah, I know. Could be better, but I had the urge to write this and I couldn't just ignore it! What would that make me? Some kind of, ignoring…author person…**

**Not as long as I'd like to eventually do, but everything is just starting out. Once I go in a bit further, things will begin to pick up. I also know there are a few plot holes at the moment, and yeah the Sandaime is a bit too accepting, but come on. He's the Kami no Shinobi, plus the test results match and he knows Naruto. Give him some credit.**

**Anyway, I'm out for now. Who knows, there may actually be another chapter later.**  
**Review! Don't be lazy, they keep me writing and let me know what you think!**

**_Chaos_, over and out**

_Listening to: Coming Back Down – Hollywood Undead_


	3. Chapter 2

_Listening to: Don't Forget Your Roots – Six60_

**Second Chance to Make It Right **_Seriously, I need a new title for this  
_Chapter 2:

* * *

After Natsumi had realized that she was clad only in a very thin, very light hospital gown, she'd run back to her room with a glowing red face. Thankfully, her clothes had been washed and kept safe while she was unconscious. She slipped on a sleeveless mesh shirt and an orange tank top over that. A green flak jacket that stopped at her waist was zipped up to just under her noteworthy bust and fingerless gloves slipped on her hands. Tight navy shorts on her legs with her pouch strapped to her right leg, and navy shinobi boots on her feet. Her hitai-ate tied loosely around her neck and her hair brushed out of her face despite the messy fringe that always refused to obey her.

Fully dressed, she took off to the restaurant that had been her favourite since she was a child. The Ichirakus had always been kind to her, but after the Teuchi disappeared during one attack on the village, Ayame just couldn't handle going back to their restaurant even for their best customer.

Natsumi slowed down to look at the sights around her. It had been so long since she'd seen Konoha this vibrant and loud. Even seeing the odd shop that had disappeared after the Suna-Oto invasion had her feeling nostalgic.

She tracked the familiar route to the ramen bar, head swivelling around taking in the sights.

"Well you're certainly doing your part of the deal" came an amused voice next to her. Natsumi snapped her head around, ready to defend or attack. She stopped when she saw the familiar - oh so familiar- spiky grey hair and smiling eye of her sensei.

She had to fight the urge to hug him, to slap the back of his head, to glare at him, to burst into tears. Her perverted sensei was right in front of her. As if he hadn't died protecting her, preventing her from being taken by her own stupidity. Instead of doing those things, she smiled softly and said

"Kakashi-sensei, it's good to see you. Were you the one who found me?"

He walked beside her, his damn porn book written by her other perverted sensei in front of him. He looked so young; it made her heart hurt.

He hummed in agreement "You appeared out of nowhere, no sign of external damage yet knocked out, looking like an older version of one of my students."

She laughed "Ahh, yes well, that wasn't part of the plan." he looked at her and she rubbed the back of her neck "OK, so I had no plan" he eye-smiled again.

They reached the ramen stand and lifted the flaps covering the entrance.

"Hello and welcome to the Ichra- Naru-chan, is that you?" Ayame looked suspiciously at the duo.

Natsumi laughed nervously "Uh, I don't think I'm the person you're looking for. My name is Naru, but I'm Kazama Natsumi, I haven't been in the village for a very long time."

Settling into their seats at the bar, Ayame smiled at the pair "Ah, I'm sorry; you just look an awful lot like one of our best customers. I'm Ichiraku Ayame."

Kakashi eye-smiled again while Natsumi grinned "I've been hearing that a lot today. I'll take two bowls of miso please Ichiraku-san" Ayame nodded and turned to Kakashi.

"I think I'll have a shrimp please"

Ayame nodded before heading to tell her father.

Kakashi flipped his book shut and turned to his older student.

"Was it really that bad?"

She knew what he was talking about, but couldn't bring herself to look at him so she simply nodded, staring at the bar in front of her. Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his gravity-defying hair.

"Guess that was a redundant question, you wouldn't have come back if it wasn't"

She smiled at him "You're quick to catch on sensei"

He waved a gloved hand at her "You're just figuring this out now? Maa, maybe I didn't teach you as well as I thought I might have" she punched him in the shoulder, but grinned at him anyway.

"Don't be so proud sensei; it doesn't look good on you."

Their light conversation continued through their meal, Kakashi managing to somehow eat his food and take off his mask without her seeing still. (Naru and her team were still trying to get it off him, even when they were well into their late teens). Finally Kakashi got to his main points.

"They've been asking about you, you know? I've just been telling them that it was a training accident, but even Sasuke is curious. Do you know how odd it is to see them all agreeing on something?"

She laughed "Seriously? Ahh, I'd leave it for now. Hokage-jiji is having a meeting with me soon to organise a few thing, wait till after to tell them anything."

He nodded and opened his porn book again. "Do you even have a place to stay yet?"

Natsumi froze, where was she going to stay? She couldn't exactly stroll up to her old apartment and just tell her mini-me that she was her older self, and could she live there? No, that wouldn't work at all. Plus she didn't have any money at the moment; Kakashi had been kind enough to pay for lunch seeing as she'd only had two bowls.

Kakashi sighed at her obvious distress "How about this, if Hokage-sama can't organise anything short notice, you can stay with me till you can rent. There isn't a spare bed, but I've been told my couch is extremely comfortable."

Natsumi looked up at Kakashi, blue eyes wide before leaping forward and hugging him tightly around the middle "!"

He scratched the back of his head "Maa, maa, it's no problem."

She let go before looking at the sun "Oh crap, I'm late!" She turned and ran off down the street "Thank you Kakashi-sensei! I'll see you later" she called before she took to the roof and disappeared.

Smiling to himself, Kakashi turned and began walking to his meeting place with his cute little student. It looked like his sensei's daughter grew up well. He smiled again knowing what the reactions of his team were going to be when he showed up, two and a half hours late.

'Hmm, should I say that a black cat crossed my path or that I had to help a little old lady with her shopping?'

* * *

_7 years into the future_

Uchiha Sasuke glared at the seal in front of him. He had gone to check on the dobe (he didn't know why he had the urge to visit her more and more often) only to find her home empty, a sealed box just inside the door, a large seal on the floor and a trace of a large amount of chakra being used recently.

After searching the area to make sure she really wasn't there, he decided to have a crack at the sealed box, only to pull out a scroll covered in her chicken scratch writing.

_Sasuke-teme_

_Ahh, so if you're reading this, obviously I've either succeeded in my research, or my house is in ruins and it failed horribly. It better damn well be the first one. _

_So, the seal on the floor is called the "__Jikan no chi o ikenie ni sasageru" __I've been researching it for the past two years, but I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't bear to get anyone's hopes up, only for them to fall if I failed. Sorry about that._

_On the other hand, if I was right in the research, then the seal was correct. I should be back in time, around 7 years I'd say, near graduation. I couldn't leave things like they are, we lost too many people to the war, even before then to Akatsuki or Danzo and the councils schemes. I had to change things. _

_I don't want to write about if I failed, so I'll leave it here. _

_I'll make things right teme, he'll know the truth. Hopefully I can save them both. Wish me luck!_

_The Dobe_

He crumpled the letter in his shaking hand. How could she not tell him? He could have helped, he could have… Running a weary hand through his ink black hair he glared at the seal in front of him.

Make things right huh?

* * *

**A third chapter in two days? Le gasp, it's a miracle! **

**Just kidding, but I hope that this sounds OK. I'm writing this late at night, with no beta and this is the only time I can really write without being glared at for not studying. Plus I'm back to work soon, so there may not be any updates after the next one for a while.**

**Anyway, I woke up this morning and I saw my inbox full of alerts, favourites and reviews! I was shocked, mainly because I never expected people to be so interested in any of my fics. I'm mainly writing to improve my skills, but if you lot enjoy it that's an extra plus! How could I ignore my cute little readers hmm?**

**So I'm open to any suggestions, opinions or questions at the moment, just shot me a message to let me know - I will try to get back to you, promise!**

**Anyway, vote on the poll on my page, it'll help me to choose a direction for this fic!**

_**Chaos**_

**P.S. If anyone's wondering, Naru is around 19 – 20, while the past versions the Konoha 12 are 12 – 13. Hope that clears anything up.**

**P.P.S. I'll link a picture to what inspired Naru's clothes on my profile later... Eventually...**

_Listening to: Dance With the Devil – Breaking Benjamin_


	4. Chapter 3

**Second Chance to Make It Right - seriously, open to shorter title suggestions**  
**Chapter 3:**

* * *

Natsumi huffed as she was made to wait outside the Hokage's office. She was used to being able to barge in at any time, with both jiji and Tsunade, but she knew that it would be odd to see a jounin simply walking into the office. Thus she waited impatiently outside the door for whichever team that was inside.

Finally the door opened letting out the genin team that was inside. Looking at them she stiffened slightly. Team 10 and their sensei came out having apparently finished another D-rank for the day.

"Honestly Shikamaru, you're so damn lazy! I had to do most of the work, and some of that muck got into my hair! What if Sasuke-kun sees me like this huh?"

Naru inwardly winced, having forgotten what Ino was like when they were young.

"Tch, troublesome woman." Shikamaru grumbled.

"What was that?" Ino yelled in his ear. Naru held in a giggle at the faces on Shikamaru and Asuma before moving forward to go into jiji's office. However her movement caught Asuma's eye, which lead to his curiosity of the unknown kunoichi.

"Ah, I don't believe we've meet before. I'm Sarutobi Asuma, and these are my new genin team, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji."

Blocking out the scenes of Asuma's funeral, along with Choji's broken body and Ino's blank eyes that forced their way into her mind, she gave a small grin.

"No, I didn't think so. I'm Kazama Natsumi. I've been away for quite some time, so you probably aren't that familiar with me"

Asuma nodded before placing a hand on his students' shoulders "Well, we should go. Tora isn't going to come back by himself!" Laughing at the groans that came from the genin, Natsumi waved them off. Breathing a calming breath, she knocked on the door and walked in with the welcome.

* * *

Despite Shikamaru's bored and lazy exterior, his mind was one of the sharpest you could find. He'd noticed a slight wince on the blonde kunoichi's face when Asuma-sensei got her attention. Not only that, but she bore a striking resemblance to his friend Naru. The blonde hair and blue eyes were almost the exact same shade; the older woman's differing by a few shades darker. He also noticed faint whisker marks on her cheeks that Naru also had. There had to be some kind of relation there.

Ino's blaring voice dragged him sharply back to reality, calling his a lazy bastard and to help. He tisked, but moved forward.

"Tch, troublesome woman."

"What was that!"

* * *

Natsumi stood in front of Hiruzen, both being serious and professional. Inwardly, Sarutobi was impressed that Naruto – even an adult version of her – could be so serious. He'd sent a message to Jiraiya earlier, who sent word back that he'd be there in around a week, and Kakashi would be bringing mini-Naru with him after their mission and trainings – In other words, they probably wouldn't even show up until tomorrow.

"Natsumi, the privacy seals are up, no one can get in or out without my say so."

She nodded her head before launching into the meeting. "What do you need Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen tilted his head forward "Whatever you deem necessary for me to know."

Natsumi shifted slightly "There's a lot to cover sir"

"Best to get started then hm?"

Natsumi looked back at the Hokage "The Suna-Oto invasion that will happen at the chunin exams has been planned for months. Even now they are preparing and Orochimaru is getting ready to infiltrate as a genin. His main target till the final exam will be Uchiha Sasuke for his Sharingan"

The Sandaime leant back "I was under the impression that Sasuke-kun had yet to awaken his bloodline"

"In a C-rank mission coming up he will gain it sir. If I am allowed to, I wish to go with Team 7 on this mission; there is something I have to do this time."

The Sandaime nodded "Granted, having an extra jounin with them should help them greatly from what I remember of your earlier story. What else?"

The shinobi and her commander's discussion ran long into the evening, covering as much as they possibly could.

"I would like to place you as one of the exam proctors Natsumi. Having you there would help greatly I should think, especially if Orochimaru makes his move then."

Natsumi nodded "I'll help Anko then. Her Cursed Seal would act up if she got too close to him."

The Sandaime breathed deeply. Natsumi noticed a sag in his shoulders and a frailness to his body that she hadn't seen when she was younger. Despite how strong her jiji was, he was still far too old to still be doing this job anymore.

"I believe that is enough for now Naru-chan. I will see you tomorrow. Do you have a place to sleep?"

Natsumi rubbed the back of her neck "Heh, yeah. Kakashi-sensei said I could stay with him. Night jiji"

"Goodnight Naru-chan"

Hiruzen leaned forward again, his hat casting a shadow across his face.

'_I fear dark times are coming for Konoha Naru-chan, and I hope we can all be ready for it when they do'_

A shout that came from outside his door brought him out of his thoughts,

"THE LAZY PERVERT DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME WHERE HE LIVES!"

Chuckling at things that never changed, the Sandaime turned to look out over the village he had ruled over for so many years, listening to the yells of the girl he thought of as his granddaughter echo from below.

* * *

_7 years in the future…_

"So you're saying that Naru –our Naru – has managed to keep a time-travel seal a secret from us for two years, and that not only was she successful, but she left it out in the middle of her house where anyone could find it and use it?"

"Hn"

"Tch, troublesome"

Shikamaru ran a hand through his pineapple like hair. It was just like Naru, the troublesome woman, to do something like this, and then leave them all behind.

Sasuke had found the note and called them all there, not that there were many of them left. Kurenai and her son didn't really involve themselves in shinobi business much now unless it involved protecting the small town where they now lived. Out of their graduation group, only he, Sasuke, Naru, Hinata and Shino were left, while Tenten and Lee were still around from Team Gai.

The Sand Siblings were still around, Gaara still looking after the people who remained behind in Suna. They were all that was really left from their generation, and it was something that hurt them all.

He looked at the note again before analysing the seal on the floor.

"The thing is, even as dense as Naru can be; I don't believe that she would leave a seal as powerful as this without protections. Can you imagine if one of the nuke-nin got a hold of this?"

He put his fingers tip-to-tip in his thinking pose.

"I think she left a doorway open for us."

Sasuke lost his brooding look and stared at him with more intensity then Shikamaru thought possible.

"What do you mean Nara?"

Shikamaru sighed "Look, neither of us are exactly skilled in fuuinjutsu, but I know for a fact that a seal should change after it's been used. This seal hasn't." He pointed to some symbols around the rim "These look like a count-down, like it has however many uses left"

They both stared at the seal intently, as if trying to force some answers from the mass of ink and blood.

"She said seven years right?"

"Hn."

"The only question now is, how much chakra does this seal need?"

* * *

**Boom! Another chapter done and done.**

**Honestly I wasn't planning on another chapter until the weekend *but* I made an exception. Plus I got bored. What, Physics is not exactly my forte, I prefer Chemistry any day. So feel happy, I'm updating instead of studying.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to say that I don't think this is going to be an overly serious fic, I'm not good at serious writing, but I suck at writing crack even more, so this should walk down the middle (I hope)**

**Oh, and if the future-characters are a little off, remember that they're some of the last of their generation, most of their friends and family are dead. The war went differently from the manga, which at the moment is changing too much to write accurately at this point.**

**So! Thank you for reading, and please review and vote on the poll! It'll be up untill Sunday (for NZ) so vote while you can! **

_**Chaos, over and out.**_

**P.S. I was looking at the poll results, and all I can say is "lmfao, no one likes Kakashi"**

_Listening to: Better This Way – Cherri Bomb_


	5. Chapter 4

_Listening to: Over My Head (Better Off Dead) - Sum 41_

Urgent A.N! - I went back and edited the earlier chapters, and after I thought about it, I decided to change Naruto's names:

Future Naru = Natsumi  
Present/Past = Naru

Simple enough.  
ONWARDS!

* * *

_The heavy rain fell, splattering the already muddy ground. Signs of the heavy battles that had been waged were everywhere, with scars on the earth and blood filling the holes. The wind blew across the field, tugging at some of the only colour in the area. Natsumi's hair whisked around her, and her red sage coat blew in the wind. She tightened her grip on the kunai in her hands as she glared at the man across from her._

_Tobi's orange mask dripped with water and blood, to who it belonged to she had no idea. He had his giant fan in one hand, the other held loosely at his side. His eyes glinted through the eye holes of his mask._

_"You have failed to give yourself up Uzumaki. You've let others die in place of you for years, and you are still no match for me."_

_Flashes ran through Natsumi's mind, her comrades in their deaths. Sakura, Kakashi, Gai, Tsunade, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Neji... they all went past her eyes, each death worse than the last. She gritted her teeth and the duo ran forward to engage in battle._

_Their movements were swift and brutal, leaving no trace of mercy or hesitance. The fighters moved in a deadly dance of metal and skill. Abruptly, the man's hand shot forward and grabbed her fist. Natsumi's eyes widened before his other hand slammed into her stomach. Blood and spittle flew out her mouth and landed on the orange mask. His hand now closed around her throat, holding her off the ground. His other flipped through hand seals impossibly fast. Through the eye holes in his mask, his mismatched eyes glinted dangerously._

_The masked man leaned in close. "To bad Uzumaki, and to think, they had such high hopes for you."_

* * *

Natsumi woke up gasping with a cold sweat running down her face and back. She pulled her knees to her chest and gripped her hair with her hands. Her nightmares had followed her for years, although until recently Kurama had helped to keep them at bay. Their trip had exhausted him as he tried to keep them stable, so after a quick chat he had sent her off and had been sleeping to regain his energy.

Shuddering, she got up off the sofa Kakashi had lent to her; she walked into the kitchen of the small apartment. She grabbed a drink of water, and breathed deeply banishing the lingering images of blood. A noise behind her made her spin around quickly.

In the doorway, Kakashi was standing in his sleeping gear (absently she cursed that he kept his mask on even while sleeping). His single open eye looked tired as he nodded to her.

"All shinobi tend to get night terrors after wars. Your father was the same, as am I. I don't think they ever really stop"

She looked at him "I never noticed when I was younger. The ignorance of youth I guess."

"The curse of a soldier who fights for his country, must fight his own mind."

She stared into his single black eye. "But there's no regrets, is there?"

He shook his head and she moved off to the less than desirable couch.

"Thanks sensei."

"Aa, that's another thing. You can't keep calling me sensei, it -"

"I know, I know. I'll use senpai, should be easy enough"

"But -"

"Night senpai!"

* * *

Naru sighed loudly as she and her team waited for their lazy-ass sensei on the bridge. They'd been there for nearly three hours now, and even the teme was showing his irritation. She could see his eyebrow twitching on the otherwise of the bridge. Sakura was fuming in the corner, not even her infatuation with Sasuke would distract her at this point.

Just when she was about to scream from frustration, a large puff of smoke signalled the arrival of Kakashi-sensei and another person who was ignored for now.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naru and Sakura yelled at the grey haired man. He laughed nervously and vaguely waved a hand at them.

"Maa, I had a good reason today. I was walking on the road of life when -"

"Senpai, shut up. I swear your stories have gotten worse" the feminine voice of the shape next to their sensei finally drew attention. Naru froze for a moment looking at the very beautiful woman.

She was definitely the person they had found a few days ago, the most noticeable change being her state of consciousness. Her messy blonde hair was shorter than her own that ran down her back in messy pigtails, and her azure eyes held the same sadness she sometimes saw in Kakashi-sensei. Her flak jacket showed her to be at least a Chunin, but with her attitude spoke of a jounin. The things that drew Naru in the most was the fact that she could pass as an older version of herself. Shooting a quick look at her teammates, she could tell that the same thought was running through their minds.

She looked away from the disgruntled man next to her and looked down at the three teens. Naru thought she saw a flicker of recognition as she looked at them but it was gone too soon to tell.

"Yo, I'm Kazama Natsumi, and I'll be helping to train you lot, especially since this lazy-ass is late. I like training, ramen and my precious people. I hate bastards, enemies of the village and a certain man. I have a few hobbies that aren't really your business, and my dream is to make a better future."

She looked at them expectedly before face palming at their confused expressions. She looked at Kakashi who did his eye smile.

Naru was the first to snap out of their stupor "Hey, you're the woman we found at the training grounds! Are you ok lady? How'd you get there anyway? Why were you-?"

Her teammates had snapped out of their trances and Sakura raised her arm.  
"Baka! Stop annoying Kazama-san!"

She brought her fist down but before it could hit Naru on the head; a deceptively soft hand caught it.

"I'd appreciate it if you would both keep it down, and do you often hit your teammate for asking questions? That's quite rude, you're meant to value your team, not put them down."

The genin stared at the woman in shock. None of them had seen her move, but one moment she was on top of the bridge with Kakashi, then she was next to the girls, one hand holding Sakura's aloft, with no trace of her moving from her place. She had a sickly sweet smile on her face that made Naru extremely nervous. She tilted her head slightly.

"I thought you would have taught them better senpai" an odd crushing feeling filled Naru's chest and she opened her mouth to reply before she saw a movement of blue from her left. Next thing Sasuke had moved in to attack the woman, who without a hint of effort, let go of the girls and flipped backwards before halting the boys attack. "Well that was rude" she said lightly.

Sasuke grunted "Let me go" The blonde woman hummed briefly "Not gonna happen pretty-boy. In case you forgot, you're the one who attacked me."

Kakashi finally decided to take control of the situation "Alright, everyone calm down. Sasuke, it's rude to attack people who aren't your opponents. Sakura, stop hitting Naru, she can't afford to lose any more brain cells" Smiling at the last comment he said over Naru's spluttering "Naru, don't be rude. Oh, and Natsumi? Please let go of my students and stop scaring them?"

Natsumi smiled and let go of Sasuke's limbs before moving back to Kakashi. "It won't hurt them sempai, plus they need to hear it from somewhere."

Naru scowled at her "Still doesn't mean you have the right to. You haven't even thanked us for helping you when you were knocked out."

Grinning slyly as Natsumi blushed slightly "Uh, right." She coughed before saying "Honestly, thank you for finding me. I underestimated what a new jutsu of mine would do to me."

The genin nodded grudgingly at the woman before looking to their sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are we going to be doing today?" Sakura asked politely, obviously looking to redeem herself in the older shinobi's eyes.

Naru felt a sense of dread fill her when she saw a twitching under Kakashi's mask that indicated he was grinning. "We're just doing endurance training Sakura-chan."

The genin began to sweat at the glint in their sensei's eye "A-and how will we start?" Naru stammered.

Kakashi cracked open his porn book and Natsumi grinned "Warm-ups ladies!" ignoring Sasuke's protest the he was a guy; she carried on "I figure we'll start slow seeing as you're all freshly picked."

The genin breathed a sigh of relief "10 laps around the entire village wearing these 15 pounds weights on every limb" She looked at their white faces "Oh come on, this is nothing! In three days we'll be increasing it to 20 pounds and 15 laps!"

Natsumi frowned further at their apprehensive looks "If you keep that up it'll be 25 pounds and 20 laps instead."

A flurry of movement later and the three genin took off to begin their warm up. She giggled and looked at the silver-haired man "I understand why you behave like you do now."

"He looked up briefly "It's fun isn't it?"

* * *

The pair of jounin looked down at the exhausted genin (Sakura was nearly dead, while Sasuke was panting heavily and an odd shade of red. Naru was in the best state but still panting)

"Come now, it can't be that bad." Kakashi said lightly. At the exhausted glare from his students he chuckled. "It's for your own good you know. You said you wanted to get stronger right?"

Natsumi and Kakashi grinned at their mumbles when a wave of odd energy came from the east. Their heads snapped around, staring at the far forest. Kakashi leant closer to Natsumi.

"That's the same kind of chakra I felt when you showed up."

She continued staring before turning to face him. "Move the kids, and then come back. I have a feeling I'll end up needing some help."

He turned back to the teens and Natsumi took off in the direction of the Chakra flux, her blonde hair flying in her wake.

* * *

**OMAKE: Kakashi's mornings**

Kakashi happily ate his breakfast and looked at his clock. '_Hmm, not quite 8:30. I still have two more hours.'_

Across the table, his older blonde student glared at him. "Is this what you would do all those times you were late?"

He shook his head "No. Sometimes I go shopping, or avoid Gai. Other times I take a wander through the village. I always go to the memorial stone though."

She looked at him sceptically, but accepted his answer. They were due to meet his team 30 minutes ago, but she knew there would be no hurrying Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

Walking towards the bridge at 9:30, Natsumi almost couldn't believe that they were leaving so early. Kakashi always waited at least two hours before going to meetings.

However as they walked, an old lady carrying obscenely large shopping bags stumbled slightly. They moved forward, and caught her and her shopping.

"Oh, thank you shinobi-sans. I have to get home with all this, and my daughter is sick and can't help me out."

Kakashi smiled at the old lady "It's no problem ma'am. Would you like some help?"

The old lady smiled at them "Oh, such kind young people. Yes, thank you."

Natsumi stared at her sensei in shock as he took the bags out of the granny's arms and moved off at a slow pace. She shrugged. '_He had to have done stuff like this at some point'._

* * *

After dropping the old lady off, they moved off again. However, as they passed the park, they saw a small crying child next to a large tree. They moved over to the little boy.

"Hey kid, what's wrong?" she asked in concern. The boy snuffled and wiped his face on his sleeve.

"Mr Whiskers is stuck in the tree and can't get down. Can you please help?" They looked up and saw a large black cat in the tree, glaring down at them.

Kakashi placed a hand on top of the kids head "No problem squirt"

* * *

Moving off once more, Natsumi twitched slightly. There was no way this could happen every day. Kakashi's bad excuses couldn't always be real.

Seemingly destined to eat her words, the duo stopped when a 'civilian' jumped out at them, releasing a poorly done henge.

"Copy Ninja Kakashi, I will have my revenge!"

"OH COME ON!

* * *

**Ah ha ha, sorry about my absence, please don't kill me!**

**I've been really busy lately. In fact the only reason this is up today is because I have the day off and I'm procrastinating from essays I really should be doing… **

**Anyway, I hope that was OK. I've been thinking about changing a few things around on this, maybe going back and editing some things. The most obvious at the moment is the names. I got a review that made me think about what I called them and I couldn't help but agree.**

**The poll is finished, results were pretty… insistent. I'll keep them a secret for now, but it's bound to show up soon. **

**So, I thought I should clarify a bit. Although this will follow the majority of the manga arcs for now, it will be a more behind-the-scenes/Natsumi-trying-to-fix-things rather than going through the motions of following Team 7 on missions and what not.**

**I hope that's answered everything so far. Thanks for reading!**

**Read and Review, they're food for hungry authors.**

_**Chaos**_

_Listening to: Under My Skin – Gin Wigmore_


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